Esha Chhabra

Jake Miller had a front-row seat to watch specialty coffee take off. Before earning his MBA from Stanford, he worked at Caribou Coffee, then a chain of 400 cafes across the Midwest.

Gary Vaynerchuk , the entrepreneur and social media marketing veteran behind VaynerX , is not one to understate things.

The numbers tell a striking story. The at-home matcha market has grown from roughly $130 million in 2023 to an estimated $200 million in 2025, according

Shea McGee transformed her interior design passion into a sprawling lifestyle empire, Studio McGee and McGee & Co., encompassing home furnishings, a Netflix show, and a new cookbook. Unlike many venture-backed DTC brands, McGee adopted a fiscally responsible, bootstrapped growth model, taking minimal outside investment. She strategically stepped away from her Netflix series to regain creative control and is now embracing "analogue" ventures, including a cookbook and opening physical retail stores. McGee also prioritizes authentic community on platforms like Substack over noisy social media. While experimenting with AI for operations, she emphasizes its current limitations for finished design work, acknowledging that business challenges are constant and ever-evolving.

Iconic is using AI to help Main Street business owners sell smarter as $5 trillion in small business value prepares to change hands over the next decade.

SURI expanded into 500 Target stores, confident from strong demand signals like 4x velocity at Boots, robust DTC/Amazon sales, and 16,000+ positive Trustpilot reviews for their unique, plant-based electric toothbrush. This strategic move wasn't based on a single metric, but on Target being the right partner with aligned shoppers and viable economics. Recognizing that over 65% of oral care purchases happen in-store, physical retail is crucial for mass awareness and long-term growth, despite the high marketing spend of competitors. SURI meticulously modeled retail economics, focusing on shelf productivity and converting discovery into routine. The brand aims to stand out in-aisle with clear positioning, emphasizing design, performance, and practical sustainability. Scaling requires navigating operational complexities and sustainability trade-offs, ensuring the core mission remains intact while adapting messaging for retail's quick impression.

Founders Jesse Schiller and Rachel Evans, have dealt with volatile tariffs, choosing to absorb them rather than pass them on. They're still on track to grow the business.

Derek Cooper and Krysta Morgan of Poppy and Pout have built a national beauty brand, without taking any external funding, and expert analysis says that might be wise.

New regulations in California and Europe are pushing fashion brands to come head-to-head with their waste problem. One Canadian company is working on a circular solution.

Chef Curtis Stone's Gwen marks 10 years in LA as the city continues to see restaurant closures. Here's how Stone's steakhouse has survived, and continues to source ethical meats.